UPDATE: Interior Minister Bulent Arinc has suggested for the first time that the Turkish army may be used to quell the protests. This is an important moment, as it would no doubt have to have followed on days of serious negotiations — the army is one of Erdogan’s biggest opponents (some even supported the protesters in early days) and is fiercely secular. Until now, Erdogan’s neutering of the political power of the army was thought to have ruled them out as a possible last resort, potentially explaining the brutality of police intervention. If the army does get involved, this will become very, very ugly.

It has been one hell of a weekend.

I headed to Ankara on Friday with the aim of covering ongoing clashes in the capital and an AKP rally scheduled for Sunday evening. The city of Ankara is a classic example of urban planning a la Erdogan…